Caterham F1 Team owner Tony Fernandes has spoken out to silence rumors that he may be set to sell the team after it has failed to meet his expectations.

Although the tycoon did admit that he expected Caterham to be running in the midfield by now, he believes that the team has come too far to simply walk away.

“We went in with our eyes wide open and we are too far down the line with Caterham so, no, I will not be leaving,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “It’s not about winning the world championship for me, it’s about building a car, which has always been my dream and that’s progressing quite well.”

The team has beaten closest-rivals Marussia in all three of its active seasons, but the tables may have turned in 2013 as the Anglo-Russian team currently sits P10 in the constructors’ championship. However, with Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde impressing of late for Caterham, they could be set to re-claim this position in Monaco this weekend. Fernandes is pleased with the progress that the team has made, and he is keen on it continuing in the coming years, even if they are not meeting his early expectations.

“If we had just continued on our normal path we probably would have been in the midfield by now, so we’ve learned the hard way. But on the business side it’s done everything I wanted it to.

“I also think we’ve the right people now, but would I say we are 100 per cent where we want to be? No. We’ve a nice facility in Leafield and we’re going in the right direction.”

Fernandes refused to make too wild a claim and set his sights on a world championship any time soon, but he is hopeful that Caterham could yet score some points in the next season or two.

“I’m not saying we are going to be world champions any time soon, but I do believe if we continue this way then we have a good chance of progressing.”